Outlet-box.



L. CHURCH.

OUTLET BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAB..31, 1906. RENEWED MAR. 15, 1909.

Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

M u M M m c M w W 6 Z W L 7 w 2 W M/ L a Aumzw. 9. Guam LEW'IS H.CHURCH, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

OUTLET-BOX.

Application filed March 31, 1906, Serial No. 309,182.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwis H. CHURCH, a citizen of theUnited States,residing at- Stamford, in the county of F airfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented new and useful Improvements in Outlet-Boxes,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in outlet or junction boxes and theobjects of the same are; first, to provide a secure fastening in the boxfor the cable and a perfect bond between the cable sheath and the outletbox; second, to provide a bushing which will protect the wire from wearat the point where the sheath ends; third, to provide a bushing which isquickly and easily secured in place and removed; fourth, to provide abushing which will secure the cable in the outlet box without injuringthe sheath and the insulation of the conductor; fifth, to provide anoutlet box which is flush with the wall when in position, and many otherol ects and advantages which will be apparent from the followingspecifications. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a transverse sectionalview. Fig. 2 is a front elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail view inperspective of the bushing and, Fig. l is a detail sectional view of thesame. F ig.

5 is a sectional view of a modified form of.

bushing for use where the cables enter the outlet box on the side.

Similar numerals of reference designate similar parts throughout theseveral views.

1 is the outlet box which is annular in shape and of suitable depth forthe purpose and the same is provided with the annular flange 2, which isperforated at suitable intervals for the reception of the fasteningscrews, 3. The back or bottom of the box, l, carries an integral stud,5, which is exteriorly threaded for the connection of the electricfixture. The back, 4, may be pro vided with one or more cable openings,6.

In the form of box shown herein, openings are made for the reception offour cables, but I desire to have it distinctly understood that the boxmay be altered in shape or form for a greater or smaller number ofcables or for the entry of the cables either in the manner illustratedor at an angle to the axis of the box. The cable, 7, is covered by theprotecting sheath, 8, which is here illustrated as spirally wound topreserve the flexibility of the cable. These cables so pro-Specifieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1909.

Renewed. March 15, 1909. Serial No. 483,583.

tected by the sheathing, enter the bushing, 9, which is seated in thecable opening, (5, and secured in place by the screws, ll). This bushingis provided with a number of longitudinal slits, 11, extending from oneend to the perforated cars, 12, at the other end thereof. Theperforations, 13, in these ears receive the screws, 10, which secure thebushing to the outlet box. The slitted portion of the bushing isexteriorly tapered from the ears, 1; to the end, while the interior ofthe bushing is tapered in the opposite direction to a point a suitabledistance from this end of the bushing where the interior bore terminatesin an annular shoulder, ll. This shoulder abuts against the end of thesheath, 8, and the conductors, l5 and 16, of the cal le, 7, pass throughthe reduced opening, 17, at this end of the bushing.

To protect the insulation, 18, of the cable against wear, the opening 17is formed in the shape of a rounded boss which gives a bearing surfacefree from cutting edges. This boss will be clearly seen in Fig. a of thedrawing. the construction of bushing just described, it will be seenthat the tapered portion will be tightly compressed about the sheath ofthe cable where the opening. (7, is smaller than the greatest diameterof the bushing as is the constriu-tion herein shown. By tightening thescrews, 10, the bushing is drawn into the trpening, (3, as far the taperwill permit and at the same time the bushing is compressed around thesheath and secures a firm and evenly distributed annular grip upon it.

It will be seen by referring to Fig. l of the drawings that the bushing,by reason of the exterior and interior tapers, is afforded an increasedbearing surface upon the sheath and the benefits from this are two-fold.first, it gives a very secure fastening in the outlet box for the cableand secondly, it furnishes a perfect bond between the sheath and themetallic outlet box which is desirable in electrical installation aswell known to those versed in the art. It will also be observed that thefastening device thus described and shown cannot injure the sheath forthe bearing surface is upon all points of the sheath circumferentiallyand the compression is equally distributed thereabout. here the securingpressure or fastening means are brought to bear against the sheath inany other manner as in the case of a binding screw or similar clampingdevice the resuit is that the sheath is flattened against the conductorsof the cable to the injury thereof.

My invention is designed to overcome especially any damage to theconductors by flattening of the sheath.

This outlet box is intended to be seated in the wall or ceiling so thatit will be flush therewith and a beneficial result from this feature ofthe invention is that a smaller canopy may be employed. This form ofoutlet box is particularly adapted for use in a finished building whereit is desirable to avoid breaking the plaster as is the case where it isnecessary to secure the box at the back thereof. The opening that isrequired is just suflicient to seat the outlet box therein with itsflange, 2, resting against a fastening surface.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modified form of bushing for use wherethe cable enters the outlet box on the side thereof. The box, 20, isprovided with the opening, 21, upon the side instead of the back. Inorder to secure the cable, 22, therein a bushing, 28, is provided whichsaid bushing is designed to be inserted in the opening from the insideof the box as in the case of the preferred form of my invention. Thisbushing is similar in every respect to the preferred form with thefollowing exceptions: namely, it is provided with. an annular shoulderor flange, 2st, instead of the cars, 19., and is provided with threadsupon the tapered exterior surface, which threads, 25, extend from theend of the bushing nearly to the shoulder, 24. The bushing is providedwith the interior shoulder, 26, and with the longitudinal slits, 27, forthe same purposes those in the preferred form of the invention. Thebushing thus described is secured to the outlet box by a lock nut, 28.threaded upon the outside of the same. This lock nut, when tightenedagainst the box draws the annular shoulder, 24, up against the interiorthereof. Upon the bushing is also threaded a sleeve, 29, having athreaded interior bore, 30, tapered to correspond to the exterior of thebushing. By tightening up this sleeve it will be under stood that thecompression will cause the sheath around the cable to be tightly grippedin the manner ascribed to the preferred form of the invention and all ofthe beneficial objects therein attained are preserved in thismodification.

It is to be understood that the construction herein described is adaptedfor use in connection with outlet and junction boxes for either cablesor conduits.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. An outlet box provided with an annular flange, means for securing thebox to the building at said annular flange, longitudinally tapered andsplit bushings, said box having its walls provided with openings adaptedto receive said bushings, said bushings having securing ears, andfastenings passed through said securing ears.

2. The combination with an outlet box, of a bushing adapted to beinserted in a cable opening and receive the cable, the said bushinghaving'a tapered bore and an interior, annular shoulder atone endthereof, longitudinal slits in said bushing extending from the oppositeend thereof to a point short of the said annular shoulder, an exteriorlytapered surface adapted to compress the bushing circumferentially aboutthe cable or conduit when the bushing is seated in the cable opening andmeans for securing the bushing to the outlet box.

8. A bushing for outlet boxes comprising a tapered body portion havinglongitudinal slits therein and a bore oppositely tapered and providedwith a shoulder near one end and a rounded boss at the opening of thebushing at this end, and diametrically-opposed and perforated ears forthe reception of means for securing said bushing within thecable-entering openings of an outlet box.

st. An outlet box having cable openings in the walls thereof, bushingsadapted to receive the cables having longitudinally split and taperedportions received in the .cable openings, the bushings having each aninternal shoulder to be engaged by the end of the cable sheath, andmeans for seating the bushings in the cable openings to cause the bushings to clamp the cable sheath.

5. A bushing for outlet boxes comprising a tapered, split body-portionhaving an oppositely tapered bore, and means for the retention of saidbody-portion in thercablereceiving opening of said outlet-box.

6. A bushing for outlet boxes comprising a tapered, split body-portionhaving an oppositely tapered bore and a shoulder therein near one end,and means for the retention of said body-portion in the cable-receivingopening of said outlet-box.

7. A bushing for outlet-boxes comprising a tapered, split body-portionhaving an oppositely tapered bore and a shoulder therein near one endand a rounded boss at said end and means for the retention of saidbodyportion in the cable-receiving opening of said outlet-box.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

LEIVIS H. CHURCH.

lVitnesses CHAS. E. RIoRDoN, Enw. S. DUVALL, J r.

